TEAM

A seasoned team with practical knowledge in entrepreneurship and strategic growth in all phases.

Pano Anthos

Pano leads XRC Labs as its Founder and Managing Director. Having founded 4 startups around key platform shifts, he saw the seismic shift coming to retail and with the right vision and timing recruited Parsons School of Design and Kurt Salmon a part of Accenture Strategy to be founding sponsors. Now with 55 accelerated startups, 10 active world-class retail sponsors, 250+ business mentors, Pano has built a world-class ecosystem for retail and consumer goods innovation at XRC Labs. He speaks regularly at NRF national and regional meetings, Shoptalk and RILA executive conferences. He leverages a deep startup network in Silicon Valley, New York, and Boston to fuse leading technology, E-commerce and user experience innovations to existing customer-oriented businesses.

Carly-Ann Fergus

Carly-Ann Fergus serves as the Director of XRC Labs. Her work experience spans from established companies such as Tommy Hilfiger to startup brands such as Nahm. She has experience in high-end retail and has spearheaded the launch of an emerging New York-based women’s wear brand while serving as the director of operations.

Carly-Ann holds a BA in Visual Communications from SUNY Farmingdale and an MA in Fashion Studies with a focus on Strategic Design and Management from Parsons School of Design. She serves as an Advisory Board and Selection Committee member for the 2017 inaugural CFDA and Accessories Council Elaine Gold Launch Pad initiative. Carly-Ann has been featured on Forbes and has been mentioned in outlets such as WWD and Vogue Italia. She was a speaker at the 2017 CFDA Education Summit, 2017 Women in Innovation Forum, and the French Consulate General during the National Retail Federation French event.

Holly Zimmerman

Holly is a Managing Director at XRC Labs where she brings over 20 years of investment experience across consumer product sectors at various stages of growth. Prior to joining XRC, Holly led the consumer practice at Golden Seeds, a venture capital firm and angel network that has invested in over 100 women-lead businesses. In the Equity Research department at both Citigroup and Lehman Brothers, Holly led the firms' consumer products equity research before transitioning to the technology and media sectors. She has been consistently recognized by Institutional Investors’ All American Research Team, ranking No, 1 in each of her coverage areas including: Cosmetics, Household Products, Internet portals and E-Commerce.

Holly has also held positions at Jennison Associates, a New York based Money Management Firm, and as a Consultant with McKinsey & Company. Prior to graduating from Harvard Business School, she worked in Brand Management at Proctor & Gamble and in Mergers & Acquisitions at First Boston. Holly is also a consultant and project coordinator for Harvard Business School’s Community Partners, which provides pro-bono advisory services to nonprofit organizations.

Rima Reddy

Rima is the Principal at XRC Labs, where she leads the development of XRC's relationships with brands and retailers, as well as XRC's startup sourcing and diligence process. She most recently worked in Strategy and Business Development at Ralph Lauren, with a focus on e-commerce and omni-channel initiatives. Prior to RL, Rima served as an Equity Research Analyst at Goldman Sachs covering the Consumer Staples sector with a focus on Packaged Food and Household Products.

Rima graduated from Barrett, the Honors College at Arizona State University, where she double majored in Economics and Finance, with a minor in Mathematics. She has also completed extensive coursework in Fashion Marketing at Parsons School for Design. Rima is a Nest Fellow and has volunteered with ethical fashion startup Darzah on Business Development and Digital Marketing Strategy. She was a speaker at the 2017 Fashion Tech Consortium at the Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC, the 2017 FashTech Stage Conference in Tel Aviv, Israel, and the 2018 Wearable Technology Show in London, U.K. She is a Level II candidate in the CFA program.

Safi Keshvargar

Safi is an MBA graduate from Imperial College London, specializing in strategy and innovation. Safi was awarded the IBM ‘Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Design’ prize for his business plan and presentation around an innovative financing solution for home-ownership. He brings seven years experience from the TMT industry in strategic roles ranging from Finance, Strategic Pricing, and Commercial Management, where he has a recognized track record of closing multinational bids. Safi holds a BSC. Accounting and Finance.

Yetunde Emanuel

Yetunde serves as the Administrative Manager, specializing in operations and organizational design and strategy. Joining XRC Labs from the world of health and wellness technology, she is passionate about the intersection of diverse industries to drive innovations that enhance quality of life. In over 10 years of professional experience, Yetunde has contributed her expertise in consumer experience, project management, and global social enterprise to a variety of organizations. Yetunde completed her BA and Masters of Health Administration at the Ohio State University.

yetunde@xrclabs.com

Danielle Ganot

Dani is the Associate Director of XRC Brand Lab. Prior to joining XRC, Dani was the Director of Marketing and Venture Capital Networks for a nonprofit organization as well as a professional copywriter and proofreader for a boutique marketing agency. Dani holds a BA from American University, where she majored in Law & Society with a minor in International Business. Additionally, Dani studied at the London School of Economics and has built an international network having also lived in São Paolo and Tel Aviv.